Twisted Sight
by Fullmetal Catalyst
Summary: Gaara was right. Hinata, too, had been right. Even Sasuke, in his way, had tried to show him the truth. They should never have made him Hokage. They should never have let him live. Because he, Naruto Uzumaki, was Tobi's final trump card. AU. Repost.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE: I'm reposting this. Last time I wasn't updating it in a timely manner and I have some different ideas for the direction. To that end I deleted the original and am going to restart with edits for the early chapters.**

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**I like to think I have a good idea of how **_**Naruto**_** will end. Good will triumph, love and brotherhood will find a way, the world (led by Naruto as Hokage) will ease into an era of everlasting peace, etc, etc. There will be sacrifices and there will be destruction, but in the end Naruto's vision will succeed.**

**But what if it didn't? What if it all fell apart? Welcome to the warped ending…**

**(Disclaimer: This fic does not take chapter 599, or any successive chapters, into account.)**

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_**Three minutes before War's End…**_

**Tobi:**

The death of the man called Tobi is a surprisingly modest affair.

Much more modest than he would have desired. He was _so close_ to ruling absolutely, to obtaining the truest power, power the other Uchiha had recognized and obtained but always shied away from, power over the _mind_.

He would have become a god, and with his death would have been the world's end. The end of life, the end of the universe…the end of time itself. But most importantly, the end of _war_. War, that had taken _so much_ from the world (so much from _him_)and left nothing but headstones.

Then the Uzumaki kid interfered, and all his careful preparations unraveled in a few short years.

Now there's no one here. No one but the Fourth's brat, the old failure Kakashi, the tailed beasts (_tools, nothing more_), and the youth-obsessed fool to witness a chance at true peace fade.

But he will _not_ let this boy's victory last.

Every plan must have a fallback, a backup, in the event that the original plan becomes unsalvageable. Tobi likes to think that his is among the more brilliant this world has seen.

_You never suspected this, Itachi. You could never have prepared for it. I hope you're watching…_

"_Dimensional Mangekyo Sharingan_," he gasps. His body is melting away with every breath. "_Twisted…Twisted Sight Technique. Spiral…Seal._"

The Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki hears his voice and leans in. "What's the matter? "

Tobi doesn't answer. Instead, he holds the boy's penetrating glare, even as his Sharingan finally loses its sight.

_Those blue eyes. So clear and bright. They will darken. They will fill with anguish, and hate, and…despair. You will destroy everything you love, everything…everything you fight for, and when…when you finally…understand…when you once again look upon the world…with those eyes…those eyes…_his_ eye…_

**Naruto:**

The Rinnegan's light fades. Its revolving shades of violet slowly pale, leaving only milky emptiness.

Naruto makes a face at the remains of the body. "He's _gross_."

Kakashi's eyes shimmer even as his expression tightens in anger. "I don't understand. War creates evil out of the best of us, but this twisted monster…"

The three of them watch as the body slowly melts, dissolving, leaving the shadow of a skeleton imprinted in the ground.

"_His drive was as strong as yours, Naruto_," Kurama says into the silence.

"_What's _that_ supposed to mean?_" Naruto growls, offended.

Kurama laughs. "_Don't mistake my meaning, boy. He was as corrupted now as he was on the night you were born…but he didn't begin that way. He began as you did."_

Naruto frowns, worried. He'd beaten Tobi…but he hadn't convinced him. He hadn't shown his enemy the truth. In a way, he'd failed. Could it be possible that his answer…Jiraiya's answer… "_What are you saying? That I might turn out like him?_"

"_I'm telling you to be careful,_" Kurama growls. "_I'm telling you that by the time you realize you're on that path, it's long past too late. You won't like this, but…stay away from the Uchiha boy._"

A tired smile crosses Naruto's face. "_You know I can't do that._"

"_Then there is little I can do for you,_" Kurama says sourly, his teeth bared.

Soon, the army arrives – too late to help, but unneeded after all. Wide-eyed, they stare at the ruins of the masked man, the one whose plans had killed thousands and set the world ablaze. They surround Naruto, slap him on the back, laugh in awe and joy, ask him about the battle, and he revels in the calm swell of peace. The war is over.

And yet.

He can't shake the terrible feeling that it isn't finished after all. That the masked man who'd started everything had played one final card.

But he ignores his apprehension. He ignores it because he has no other choice. Because, though the war is over, Naruto has a greater struggle ahead. The greatest battle he will ever fight.

Sasuke is waiting.

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**A/N: Stressing once again that this is alternate universe **_**Naruto**_** from here on out. Also stressing that this will be dark. I don't know yet how everything's going down, but "down" is definitely the right word for it.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Four days after War's End…**_

**Sasuke:**

For all his anger, for all his desire to break away from them…it seems strangely fitting that, at the end of all things, Team 7 is together.

His breath comes in short gasps. Even that is a struggle – Sasuke has used so much of his reserves that he couldn't lift himself if he wanted to. He can only see out of one eye – all it took was one moment of indecision, one slight opening, for Kakashi to scorch the other. Whether the blindness is temporary or permanent, he cannot tell.

He can barely remember the fight. Images pop in and out of his mind, fire and explosions and the heart-pounding exertions of hand-to-hand. Sakura, Kakashi…their faces, their fists, their blood. They're still breathing, lying unconscious on the rock, but Sasuke is already looking elsewhere.

For the one who'd found him, time and time again.

Naruto is standing apart. He is trembling with obvious exhaustion, but Sasuke cannot help but notice that he stands straight and tall.

_Bastard_. _So he was the stronger_.

Sasuke's vision shimmers, and an odd thought crosses his mind. _Of course he was stronger. He fought for peace, to break the cycle of hatred that has gripped this world of despair for so long._

Sasuke shakes his head. No. His defeat is unacceptable. It could not have been a mere power contest, he was supposed to be the strongest. Orochimaru, Madara, they'd seen his potential, Itachi had nurtured it, he'd gathered every scrap of power, of strength, and he will _not_ –

But amid the murky fragments of memory, one scene flares. Naruto, standing before him, a rasengan to match his chidori.

"_After all this time, Sasuke, I'm still here."_

From his position by the cliff's edge, Naruto is watching him. There's no hatred in his stern look, but it's not one that promises peace, either. It yields nothing, hides nothing, pretends nothing.

It's a challenge, and it's the most inviting thing Sasuke has ever seen.

Their paths led them here. Such different roads, yet always to the same destination. To each other, once again. No matter how much, how far Sasuke had run, Naruto always followed.

_Is that so bad? Somehow, his view of me has never changed. Everything I did, and still he just wanted to be stronger than I. I put him down. I left Konoha, destroyed his team, joined his enemies. I did everything I could…_

…_to beat him._

He sits up.

_No time like the present. Let's go again, Naruto_.

It's as if the blond can hear his thoughts. He grins, a wolfish smile that lights his whiskered face, makes his blue eyes glow with anticipation.

And Sasuke can't help but smile back.

No words for them. Speech would be a waste of breath, extra air interfering with the space between their fists.

But perhaps, just for now, they can put their endless combat to rest.

_If only I could allow it to be so_.

Sasuke frowns. He has only a moment to wonder why the voice sounds so familiar before the pain hits.

It's focused and _sharp_, a needle ripping into his remaining sight. Its suddenness brings his energy back in a massive rush, and black fire rips the skies above him with a terrible screech. Sasuke screams with it, clawing at his eye, certain that if he can't tear it from his skull he will die.

Better if he does. Somehow, his eye has been cursed, but at least it will finish him quickly, and then its power, if not gone, won't be able to –

"Sasuke!"

They're running to him. He's falling. Whether they can reach him before he enters oblivion only time will –

Sasuke blinks.

He blinks again.

He is alive. More than that, the pain is gone. All that remains is an itch around his blind…no. Not blind.

The world is as it had been before the battle…or longer. He feels _clean_, fresh, as if everything that had happened since he fought his brother – since he awakened his Sharingan, even – had never taken place. His vision lacks the exquisite detail it used to have, but in some ways that only makes it better. Less complicated, more pure.

It's a wonderful feeling.

The sun is high in the sky. Hours have passed, that much is clear. Maybe days: free of his dead, cursed Sharingan, he feels like he just woke from a lifelong sleep.

"Sasuke!"

Even Sakura's voice doesn't evoke the irritation it usually does. The thought makes him chuckle as he turns to his teammates.

Sakura's eyes glisten as she laughs, mistaking his amusement for the relief she clearly feels. After a moment, she reaches out to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke understands her hesitation: after everything she's been through around him…

Kakashi cocks his head but says nothing. Sasuke nods, ignoring the phantom pain where Kakashi had blinded him only a short time ago. It will be a long time before he and his old mentor repair the damage he's caused, but he's willing to make the effort.

And Naruto, looking even more tired than before, his…expression…

Sasuke blood freezes.

_What have you done?_

They kneel beside him, joy bright in their faces. Sasuke's horror goes completely unnoticed.

"You gave us a shock." Kakashi's words come as if through water. "Overusing the Sharingan was a stupid risk –"

_No, you idiots. I know what overuse feels like. It's not that._

"– and if Sakura hadn't been here, you'd be dead right now." Predictably, Sakura blushes furiously. "We had to remove your eye…a painful process, and we weren't sure…"

Sasuke ignores him – he can't tear himself away from Naruto's eyes.

One blue, and one black.

Clearly unsettled by his rival's intense stare, Naruto grins uncertainly. "You alright, Sasuke? Did the healing work?"

"You have my eye," Sasuke rasps.

Naruto nods enthusiastically, but Sasuke's fresh, wonderfully clean vision sees what lies beneath. Under Naruto's eyes are already the faintest lines of weariness, the slightest shadows revealing the beginnings of the Sharingan's influence.

"I wanted you to be able to see clearly…you couldn't keep the Sharingan in its current state, we needed it out, but then you'd only have one eye, so I lent you one of mine. Figured that's what a good friend should do, right?"

_You idiot. You should have let me pay the price. This can't happen._

He laughs, spreading his arms wide. "Kurama, though, he can handle it, no problem! I can even see out of it, he healed its vision, but –"

_Not only for the pride of the Uchiha, but also for the sake of Konoha. You have too much power at your fingertips…and it will corrupt you long before you can learn to control it._

Blind though he may sometimes be, Kakashi is no fool. He peers intently at Sasuke, who gives no indication of the ominous thoughts coursing through his mind. _He might…no. He allowed this. I can't trust him._

_Naruto, my teammates, my…friends…you give me no choice._

An Uchiha curse and the Kyuubi's chakra…Naruto is too dangerous. If he lives, he will bring death to the world. There's no other possible outcome. For the safety of the village, Sasuke cannot allow this abomination to exist. Even if it means his life, his friend's life, he must act.

_Wouldn't you agree, brother?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thanks to all who're reading and to those who have reviewed. Always like to know what you guys think :)**

**Chapter Two has been edited to explain Sasuke's brief blindness. Double thanks to ALPHAQ69 for the advice on that!**

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_**Sixteen days after War's End…**_

**Sakura:**

Four shinobi guard the hallway to his cell. Four that Sakura can see, anyway, which means at least twice those wait in the shadows cast by the few torches. If the Anbu aren't also keeping watch on the sole ward of Konoha's prison, Tonton has wings.

_Even without his Sharingan, they see him as a threat_.

A scarred man, a full head taller than she and twice as broad, steps into her path. His craggy face is as suspicious as ever – she'd never made any secret of her feelings for Sasuke.

_He's not this dangerous, I removed his weapon so I know, he doesn't pose a threat to…to…_

"Sakura, child, I don't know what you think you'll gain by –"

She shoves past him without slowing. Nothing will stop her right now. She has to know _why_.

_Why, Sasuke, _why?

There's no door. Just thick bars, steel woven with chakra, and darkness beyond.

"_Sasuke_!" she calls into the cell.

Ringing echoes are the only answer she gets. The torches behind her aren't close enough to penetrate the blackness; beyond the bars, she can make out nothing. "I _know_ you're awake, Sasuke. Talk to me!"

She's terrified that he won't answer her – that he'll never speak to her again. That –

"Still _annoying_."

A shadow stirs, detaching itself from the darkened cell, and there he stands.

"_Sasuke_," Sakura breathes, relieved.

His aloof, handsome face – even now, covered in a web of scars, it makes Sakura's heart skip a beat – is cold. "What are _you_ doing here?" he rasps.

_H-how?_ _That's all you can say to me?_ "T-to understand what _you're_ doing here."

His unblinking gaze is shuttered, so she continues, "I thought you'd changed. After I switched your – you came back, you promised to help pull the ninja world together. You promised."

Sasuke takes a deep breath. His face is carefully composed, the expression of a man who knows his death approaches and refuses to show he fears it. "I have changed. Everything I do now is to protect the village from –"

"_You tried to kill Naruto!_"

"And?"

He's hurting her again. Not the cold lightning shivering in her gut, but the bland distaste in his eyes as her thirteen-year-old self begs him not to run away.

She wants to scream, to hit him, to hug him, to stab him, to tear his prison apart, to – anything but to cry.

_Stop crying!_

"Sakura." The hard earnestness in his voice draws her attention. "Yes, I tried to kill him. I entered his house – he still sleeps there, you know – and tried to assassinate Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchuuriki, Sage, and Hokage. And I'd do it again. If I still had my eye, perhaps it wouldn't have been such a one-sided fight."

If she shakes her head hard enough, maybe it'll knock the words out. Scatter these terrible thoughts. Shake these feelings away.

"I just can't believe I _failed_. That Sharingan-wielding bastard played both of us and now he's going to destroy everything I—"

"Sasuke, _stop!_"

Through her watery vision she can just discern his shock.

_Please, just…_

"I – all you've done the last few years has hurt us. Hurt _me_. I just…I just want it to _stop._ Just…I want things to go to how they should be. And you act like you don't want that."

For the briefest moment, his expression loosens. For the first time in all the years she's watched and known him, he shows her his mind.

"I…I'm sorry, Sakura. All I've ever done…I'm sorry."

Her fragile heart splits.

Sasuke cocks his head, a hint of wonder touching his face. His eyes never leave hers. "Odd. I…hmm. Forgiveness is impossible, it has to be, but – it's a strange sensation, to – I can almost imagine wanting it. What it would be like…to get it."

_It's yours_. "You know I forgive you, Sasuke!" A ray of hope in the confusion of her stormy mind – even she gave up on him once, but there was someone who never did. Someone they trusted and loved. "And you know Naruto will, too. He always has. He understands you. He'll always stand up for you."

_We can fix this_.

Then Sasuke barks out a laugh.

"You want to believe him, don't you?"

Sakura stares. Her hope vanishes.

"Of course you do. You all do, and why not? He saved the village and did everything he said he would. But who do you think put me here?"

_No._

"You should've seen him. When I tried to kill him. He didn't look betrayed. He looked enraged. Like a ruler who'd – no, like a _god_ facing rebellion for the first time."

_No, he…he's Hokage. He had to – they made him, the Konoha elders, the Anbu –_

But she can't fool herself. No one _makes_ Naruto do anything.

"I know what you're thinking, Sakura. It was his _duty_. They _made_ him do it. Something's _off_." She turns away from his pitying eyes– the black of the unfairly hated, the blue of the boy he tried to kill – but she can't stop herself from listening. "And you know, you're not wrong.

"You asked why I'm here…I'm here because Naruto wants me to be here. I'm here because he's not himself anymore. The…_friend_ who forgave me is already on the path to destruction, and he's taking me with him."

She can't breathe.

"And it won't end here. A cycle doesn't end with one death."

He smiles, a self-mocking smirk that is agony and fear and amusement and disgust rolled into one terrible expression that sends Sakura fleeing. His last words to her roll up the hall before she can slam the door.

"I'm just the first."

_**Seventeen days after War's End…**_

**Naruto:**

It rains on the day Sasuke is marched to his execution.

Battered and bruised, blood streaming freely from infected wounds, he nevertheless holds his head high. Water traces the scars of surgery, framing his eyes in designs as intricate as any sigil. No shame, no regret line his angular face.

The assembled shinobi watch him like a hawk, but he doesn't acknowledge them. The villagers throw jeers and insults, yet it's clear he shivers only at the wind and cold. He's powerless, he lacks a Sharingan, …and his every step makes it clear that none of those watching are worth his time.

There's only one person whose existence he'll acknowledge.

_Sasuke_.

Naruto stands at the fore of those assembled – the entire village, if his guess is correct. They all want to see the death of the boy who'd tried to assassinate their beloved Hokage.

Sasuke's execution. _Sasuke's_.

_Dammit, I wanted this. Had I known it would be this hard…but I gave him every chance. _Every_ chance. I did everything I could to bring him back. Why, Sasuke, why?_

The water on his face is warm.

Lifting a hand for silence, he steps forward. Sasuke watches him. Neither of them has much interest in ceremony, and they both know it. Nevertheless, as the gathered villagers settle into quiet anticipation, they say nothing, letting the seconds drag into minutes.

And because they know each other so well, so intimately, they're both painfully aware that neither of them quite believes that this is happening.

"You know what I'm going to ask you," Naruto finally says. Beneath his thoughts lies an odd sense of calm, of expectation.

Sasuke's blue and black eyes – _I thought taking the Sharingan from him would save him from madness, not drive him down the path_ – are the only thing in the world. "I do."

"Then answer."

His unblinking stare is beginning to unnerve (_and_…_infuriate_?) Naruto. "I'm surprised you still have the presence of mind to care. Or are you just covering your tracks? I'm sure, as Hokage, you'll draw fire from _somewhere_, no matter what your views on peace."

_Just tell me!_ "Dammit, Sasuke, why did you try to kill me?"

The black-haired Uchiha sighs. "What do you want me to say? That I knew I'd never be accepted by anyone in this village except you and Sakura, no matter what I did to atone? That you alone hold more power than any twenty shinobi together? That by winning you failed to end the cycle of hatred?"

His smile exudes both sadness and condescension. "All I know is that I cannot tell you the truth. You won't believe it, because _he_ wouldn't want you to. Better that Konoha discover the truth on its own, untainted by my words. That way, there might be an end to your reign of terror."

_Very well._

A powerful surge of chakra and the villagers scream, terrified by the all-too-familiar sight of the Kyuubi's strongest weapon.

"_This_ is your response?" Sasuke finally blinks past wide eyes. "You're farther gone than I thought."

Naruto snarls. "I'm all here, Sasuke," he spits through gritted teeth, "and I've made my decision. This ends now."

"Wait." A note of pleading enters Sasuke's voice. "For your sake, at least think about it. I had nothing but my lightning – you had the Kyuubi, a Sharingan, and the entire world at your back. Why would I attack you? The answer's _right in front of you_."

_He's right_.

Hesitation –

– and during that pause, he's not alone. Naruto shakes his head vigorously, trying to rid himself of a terrible feeling of being…_recognized_ by something that isn't human. Something that isn't even entirely _real_. It flickers and shudders beneath his thoughts. The scene before him winks in and out of his uncertain vision.

With one final shake, the feeling disappears.

So do his doubts.

The black-haired boy before him shakes his head in disbelief. "So _this_ is what it feels like to play the fool. I think we finally understand each other."

Naruto ignores him. The Tailed Beast Ball churns above him. "Last words, Sasuke?"

Sasuke laughs – a terrible cackle, high-pitched, tinged with madness and terror. "You can't even imagine the madness you face. _I _saw the danger, _I_ recognized what was wrong, _I_ tried to act. Only me, heir to the Uchiha clan, strongest shinobi in the world. Eventually you'll get it, Naruto. You're _nothing_. Just another failure who thought he could force _peace_."

Fury crawls over Naruto: an odd, detached anger with a cold center. _No, Uchiha, I haven't failed. You have. Know your despair._

As the explosion rocks the valley, shaking stones and streams of rain from the Fourth's chiseled face, he doesn't even notice that the thought is not his own.

**A/N: I ended up having much more fun with this chapter than I thought I would. Poor Sasuke.**

**Next chapter's for the shipping crowd.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Prepare yourselves. ****This one's for the shipping crowd.**

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_**Nineteen days after War's End…**_

**Hinata:**

_Naruto…_

This is not like him, she knows. She's watched him for far too long not to know when he's acting strange, and Sasuke's death was the opposite of everything he'd stood for until now.

It must be the Sharingan. She knows that as well – her Byakugan has told her much in the past twenty-four hours. The curse is dark in her penetrating vision, a slowly twisting cloud around Naruto's head that makes her sick. It has caused this. It must have.

But did the curse originate with Sasuke, or is there something more sinister at work?

_No matter_._ That is a question for Sakura or Kakashi. My job is to show Naruto the light._

He's sitting at the ramen shop, unsurprisingly, laughing with the store's keepers. They're a little hesitant, reserved, probably as a result of the manner of Sasuke's death. Even so, the new Hokage has always been charming to those with the eyes to see, and their cheer in his company is genuine.

She walks over, her stride slow. She'd once intended to speak to him about her feelings, about _them_, but his ascension to Hokage threw her plans awry, and now the knowledge of the curse makes her wary. Dealing with it must take precedence over everything, even her love.

His safety is the most important thing.

"Hey, Hinata!"

As usual, his greeting sends a thrill through her. "Hi, Naruto."

He peers at her. His new dark eye, once Sasuke's, is extraordinarily disconcerting. "What's up, Hinata? You look down. Want to join me?"

"Naruto…"

She twiddles her fingers. Now that she's here, she's unsure just how to proceed. Is she being too forward? She couldn't have missed anything, she _must_ be correct, but confronted with that smile, that handsome face, she panics. How could she broach such a dangerous subject?

_Naruto would just say it._

"I think you should give me the Sharingan."

He frowns, confused. "Hinata…I took this on myself to ease Sasuke's pain. Even if…it's still my burden to bear. I don't want you to have to deal with it."

"But it's not good for you. It's not safe."

Naruto chuckles, confidence and relief radiating off him. "Don't worry about me, Hinata. Kurama is handling the side effects, and there are no Uchiha alive to control it."

Hinata shivers at how nonchalantly he brushes aside his best friend's murder. _As if I needed further proof_. "Naruto, listen to me, that eye is _cursed_. If you keep it, you'll die!"

Her panic seems to have unsettled him. His expression is worried – knowing him, as much for her demeanor as for her words. _Oh, Naruto_…

"Are you sure? I mean, how could it…hmm. I guess…you have the Byakugan, so—"

She spots it the moment it happens. The dark pupil expands, pushing Naruto's eye wide open. Within its darkness, Uchiha designs dance, faint symbols that would not be visible to any without the Hyuuga clan's honed eye for detail. And then, as soon as they appeared, the symbols vanish. The eye is normal once more.

But Naruto is not. He stands, all humor gone from his expression.

_And he is completely unaware of the change_.

Fear grips her. This isn't a Naruto she's used to, not one she's ever seen, and suddenly she recalls what he's known for. Hokage and a Sage, the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki, a powerful ninjutsu user, the boy who'd taken down the masked Madara and true Madara alike, who'd single-handedly turned the tide of the Fourth War, who'd defeated _Sasuke_. Who on top of all that now possessed a _Sharingan_.

And still, her friend.

Her breathing settles, determination setting in. It's unlikely he'll accept what she's saying, not with the Sharingan guiding him. Words will not reach him.

"You won't have it, Hinata. I need it. Good day."

_If it means we must fight, so be it._

She pivots, putting out a threatening hand. "Then I will take it from you."

Naruto blinks, shocked, and her heart trembles. "So this is it, then."

Hinata nods. "There is no other way to help you see."

A shadow crosses his face, and when he meets her eyes again his Sharingan is active. The sight of it chills her, and she gulps. "My vision is fine, thank you."

Shaking her head, a tear dropping to disappear in the drying mud of the street.

"You know, I'm surprised to see another friend turn on me. Sasuke, Sasuke…his betrayal at least made _sense_. And of anyone, _you_."

_No, Naruto. It may seem like betrayal now, but afterward you will remember that I would never let you down. All I do is for you._

"It's not what you think it is. _Byakugan_."

She'd aim for the Sharingan. _There_ was the trouble, _there_ was the evil, _there_ was the corruption that had taken Naruto unawares. That eye was the source. She would have to take it out before he took her down. A small target, one that would require extreme precision to reach.

_But everything else is Naruto. I won't miss._

He laughs. It might seem natural, friendly, if not for the eerie red-and-black glare of his borrowed right eye. "You're strong, Hinata, you've proven it time and time again. But I've faced the Byakugan before, and I'm beyond you. You should back down while you still can."

"I won't give in, Naruto," she says, crouching, preparing for what she knows lies ahead. "I won't let you continue down this path. I won't ever give up on the people I love."

_I will help you understand._

"That's my Ninja Way."

**Naruto:**

Their fight isn't a battle. It's murder.

A few deep breaths, a surge of chakra from Kurama, and he has recovered. _Easy._

Bleeding from a million infinitesimal cuts, Hinata crawls toward him. Every inch elicits a soft cry of agony. Naruto is bemused that she can even move at all – his Rasenshuriken is not kind to its targets, to say the least. Of course, she is – was – strong. He'd always known it.

_Perhaps she was my last battle. Finally, there is peace._

But there's no rush of victory, no contentment. There's only emptiness, a hole lined with regret where satisfaction should reign.

_There _will_ be peace now, won't there? Won't there?_

He looks down, his brow furrowed in his bewilderment. This wasn't Tobi or Orochimaru, enemies through and through. This wasn't even Sasuke, the friend who'd betrayed him, who'd tried to kill him. What was it she'd said?

"_It's not what you think it is."_

This was –

"_Naruto_…"

Her trembling voice cuts through his anger, through his fear, through the thick cloak of orange energy that he had wrapped around himself.

It cuts him to the core – and beyond, to a part of him he hadn't even known was hidden. It hits him like lightning.

_Hinata!_

Her eyes lock on his, and for a moment he can read her very soul in them. Her love, her regret, her sadness – but not hate, never hate – washes over him, floods him, so deep that he knows he may never surface, that he may drown in it, that he _deserves_ to drown.

_I didn't – I never – Hinata – you – I'm sorry, I'm so sorry –_

A quiet sigh escapes her, and her pale eyes go blank.

Horror slams into him. Naruto staggers under the blow, trying to regain his balance, stability, understanding, _anything_, but there's nothing he can do against the feelings now bombarding him.

_What have I done?_

She knew something was wrong. She fought for his safety. She stood up to him when no one else did, gave voice to the uncertainty and dread that took him in his sleep, forced him to face his fears rather than laugh them aside. All for him.

And this was how he repaid her friendship. Her _love_.

_I…I killed…Hinata, why?_

Sasuke, regret in the expression behind the crackling lightning he wielded. Kurama, his rage after the battle subsiding into quiet bitterness. And now Hinata.

_It's all gone so wrong_.

No more thoughts of peace. He knows now where that drive has led. He'll resign, he'll submit to the elders' judgment, to Tsunade's, his comrades', anything, _anything_ to –

A prickling sensation on the back his neck causes him to look up.

He scans the crowd that has gathered, sees their horror, their _condemnation_. For a moment his vision shimmers, red-tinged from his borrowed Sharingan.

His skin goes cold.

_But of course._

He is a monster, is he not? They have always seen him this way. Always treated him like an animal. When he wanted to be recognized, they scorned him as an outcast. And now he is their monster again. It is just as it was before, when he was young.

_Not quite._

_I am Hokage now. Konoha's chained monster rules._

Footsteps behind him. Slow, erratic, jittery. He can feel it resonating with Kurama's chakra: a terrible anger, rage, hatred, and only _contained_, not controlled.

Naruto turns.

It's Neji.

"All she ever wanted…"

His voice is but a ragged whisper, scraping the air between them.

"…all she ever desired…"

Kneeling beside her, he bows his head. The tears flow freely, darkening the dirt, mixing with the red already there. Naruto waits, his heart heavy as stone – and as yielding.

When the jounin lifts his head, his Byakugan are active, and his glare is fierce.

"…was to be like _you_."

_Yes. I know._

The breeze ruffles his hair. Hinata is dead, dead by his hand, and he knows her eyes will haunt him forever…but he cannot linger on it. He cannot stop now. The village needs him, whether they want it or not.

Neji scratches his fist on the ground, through the shallow muddy pool, and when the pride of the Hyuuga clan, standing, points his fist at his enemy, it drips with his dead cousin's blood.

"No matter what I must do, no matter what it costs me, you, Naruto…will _die_."

As the words ring in Naruto's ears, Neji vanishes.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Twenty-four days after War's End…**_

**Kakashi:**

_We have to halt this madness._

Sasuke was one thing. Trying to kill Naruto was well past the boundaries of sanity, especially after the loss of his Sharingan. The power disparity was simply too great. But Sasuke must have known this – so why strike anyway?

_An Uchiha, Sharingan lost…but with Naruto's clear sight. He thought something was wrong._

Hinata's death was something else, but even that…incident…could be passed over. Not ignored, no – he's known Kurenai for far too long to think she would take her pupil's death in stride. If she weren't so far into her pregnancy, she'd probably already have attacked Naruto.

But Hinata _did_ strike first – as horrified as they are by Naruto's actions, every eyewitness claims that she was the aggressor. _A true friend, and a Byakugan-user…_

If it had ended there, they could have taken Naruto to trial, learned his purpose, understood his reasons. The village would have accepted that. But after _this_…

"Kakashi!"

_As I feared_. Heart sinking, he turns.

They're all watching him. Kurenai, arms crossed over her chest, trembling in fury. Guy, cradling the young Hyuuga heir, Hinata's little sister, in a tender embrace she can no longer feel. Ibiki, his usual stony expression frozen into ice. Anko, attended by several Anbu, stands off to the side.

And Tsunade. One hand on her cane, the other arm wrapped around Shizune's shoulders, she looks a shell of her former self and still has more presence than the rest of them put together.

The former Hokage lashes him with her fiercest glare. "Could you have seen this coming?"

Kakashi cocks his head. A flippant remark comes to mind, but he suppresses the urge. In the ravaged Hyuuga residence, watched by dozens of staring, sightless Byakugan, it's simply not the place.

"He's Hokage now," he reminds her. Tsunade winces, and he regrets the words – it wasn't her fault she'd consented to relinquish the position. Not entirely. "I can't force him to keep me in his confidence. He hasn't asked for–"

"Shut up, Kakashi." Guy's voice is serious, which in Kakashi's experience means he's liable to kill someone. "Stop treating him like he's just a boy who won't listen."

Kakashi raises an eyebrow. _Careful. With Neji's murder, he's lost as much as Kurenai_. "Is he not?"

Guy snarls, a tiger in human form. "Ignore Sasuke if you want, but don't act like this didn't happen. No Hokage of mine walks into a house and slaughters an entire clan."

"Nor mine," Kakashi responds evenly, though he knows they're all thinking of Itachi. Their silence confirms it. And they know the truth of the renegade Uchiha, enough to make them pause at ordering Naruto's immediate slaughter.

_The _entire_ clan…the only family with eye powers to match the Sharingan…the family whose eyes could strip away any mask._ "But I think you have the right idea, Lady Tsunade. Look at the murders – the identities of those slain. If we investigate—"

"What is there to investigate?" Ibiki grumbles, shifting his massive weight. Kakashi scowls, but Ibiki ignores him. "He's a threat to the whole village now. Tonight it was the Hyuuga clan; tomorrow it might be the Sarutobi." Kurenai flinches, clearly thinking of her unborn child. "Or the Anbu. Then what?"

"Orochimaru returns, and we fight." Anko licks her lips. Caught by her mesmerizing eyes, Kakashi feels the same shiver he'd feel facing a snake. "Akatsuki attacks Konoha, and we fight. Our old masked friend raises an army, and we fight. Yet the Hyuuga are slaughtered, and you hesitate. Has peace made you soft, Copycat?"

"You call this peace?" Kurenai hisses. "Hinata's death, that was _peace_?"

Taken aback by the pregnant jounin's venom, Anko blinks rapidly. "N-no. I only meant—"

"Enough."

They turn to Tsunade. With her hair falling over her face, they can't see her expression, but none miss her trembling. "I thought…I supported him because of his dream. I stepped down gladly, not bitterly, because I know…knew…him. I thought he would make his dream a reality."

"…I…we were wrong."

_Sentence passed. The boy we love is declared dead._

_But then, who am I to judge?_

"Kakashi! Where are you going?"

He lifts a hand as he strides away. "My student. My responsibility. If it must be done, I will do it. Meet me at the Hokage's office in one hour – if I fail, he'll be weakened. Take care of Sakura, Tsunade – you'll need her and Yamato together to restrain the Kyuubi."

_Naruto, I will strip away this mask_.

* * *

He doesn't go to the Hokage's office.

He's not sure where they'll gather – if they had the elder Nara's tactical sense, they'd convene underground. It's the only place they can hope to avoid the vigilance of Naruto's shadow clones.

Then again, if Naruto has clones watching over the village while he _sleeps_, they've already lost.

_This gets me nowhere. Moving does._

Naruto was never comfortable with the place – after all, he only saw the inside when he was in some kind of trouble. Even after his ascension, his appearances there surprise Kakashi, though. The boy would never sleep there if he could help it.

And so Kakashi finds himself watching the door of an apartment building – average, nondescript, one of hundreds that Yamato built in the aftermath of Pain's assault.

The residents of this building likely don't realize they're still housing the most powerful shinobi in the world. Even if they did know, they're innocent as infants. _If this goes sour…_

No. He will succeed. He has to.

For Naruto's sake.

A whisper, a flutter, and he crouches on Naruto's windowsill –

"Are…are you here to kill me, Kakashi-_sensei_?"

Kakashi pauses.

His target is on the far side of the darkened room, where the moon's light doesn't quite touch him. Curled up in a chair, gazing out at his visitor with baleful eyes, he looks more lost than Kakashi can remember.

Dropping lightly into the room, Kakashi fixes Naruto with a searching glare. "Explain yourself."

Naruto flinches as if slapped, wrapping his arms tightly around his knees. "I…I don't know what's happening to me, _sensei_. Sasuke tried to kill me, again, and Hinata…_Hinata_…"

His lips tremble. "I _killed_ her, Kakashi. She…she…"

He sounds so small, so helpless, that Kakashi almost believes it – no, he does believe it. But he's not hearing everything. "And Neji?"

Naruto doesn't respond.

_It's one thing to kill a man, Naruto, who approaches you with murder in his eyes. It's another to rip off his limbs and paint the Hyuuga seal in his blood in the middle of the street._

"Why did you massacre the Hyuuga clan?"

Blue eye and black watch Kakashi guardedly. "I couldn't trust them – Hinata was not their favored daughter, but I could see their eyes. Kakashi-_sensei_, they wanted me dead the instant they saw the body. Neji, Sasuke…I thought they were my friends, and they…"

He stands suddenly, pacing. "All I can think of are _masks_, Kakashi. People look at me and say one thing, but their eyes say the truth, or their bodies, or…there's nowhere I can turn. I'm _alone_."

Kakashi nods slowly.

And then he understands.

_The Sharingan. With the Byakugan, they could see something wrong with the Sharingan. But Sasuke was burned out – he couldn't have cursed it himself, if he'd even had the knowledge. Someone else had to, someone else with knowledge of the Sharingan._

_That's the mask Naruto's talking about – not theirs, but _his_. The one who launched the war was an expert at dimensional manipulation, and what is the mind but simply another plane on which to reside?_

On impulse, he pulls down the cloth hiding his mouth and nose, takes a step toward his student. "This is my face, Naruto. No more hiding. I'm on your side. We'll fix this."

He's never shown his team this face before. Sasuke died without ever seeing it, without ever seeing the weariness, the suffering brought on by decades of a loneliness that was all his fault. He knew it would be too much for Sakura, too familiar for Naruto. It's a burden he'd always wished to spare them.

But his student, Minato's son, needs a different kind of comfort now. Not protection, but openness.

Sniffling, Naruto glances up through his tears, smiling. A full smile, true appreciation. He looks like a man dying of thirst who'd just stumbled into a freshwater pond. "I know, _sensei_. And…thank you. Please, find Sakura. With her help, we can—"

He freezes. When he speaks again, the voice is not his. "So, my friend. You show me what I feared to see."

Kakashi blinks. _What?_

In the dim light, one eye seems to be glowing.

Too late, Kakashi realizes the truth.

He'd exposed his Sharingan deliberately, to allow him to dive right into combat if necessary, but too late he realizes that it would represent a threat to this cursed Naruto.

_No, not just a curse, and not just Naruto._

His heart pounds in his ears.

"But you're honest, Kakashi," Naruto growls, baring his teeth in an eager smile. "This much I'll give you. Even if you couldn't save anyone, at least you recognize it – and you know I'm in here. Don't you?"

Kakashi clenches his fists. _Looks like I failed after all_. "So this is your revenge. You cursed that eye, knowing Naruto would bear his friend's burden. You twisted their bond that was closer than any you've ever known, turned it into something poisonous."

He narrows his eyes. "If only you'd stayed dead."

Naruto lets out a low, hissing laugh. "Make sure of it next time, then. The powers of the Uchiha are a _wonder_, aren't they?"

Suddenly, the maniacal rictus of amusement vanishes, leaving only a faint frown on Naruto's face. "It's strange. The Hyuuga, Sasuke, even with the girl…I didn't need to fight this hard to make him believe. His doubts hinder him, eat away at him, and when he's killed _you_, another of his precious ones…I don't know if I can…

"You're a failure, Kakashi…and yet, somehow…"

_Rin…Third…_sensei…

But they are gone, all of them, and he is alone.

_Obito._

Dead.

An orange shroud, darkened and stained with Sharingan designs, springs into existence around the young Hokage, enveloping him, consuming him.

**A/N: Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, the best and brightest of Konoha's elite. But I think Obito's gift bites =D**

**I don't like this one as much as the others. Sorry if it feels a bit rushed – it was.**


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